


dead man walkin'

by Pomfry



Category: Batman (Comics), Servamp (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Crossover, Dubious Morality, Gen, Get rekt Gotham, Hugh hates Gotham with a passion, I am incapable of writing Kuro and Mahiru as anything but domestic, It's time for servamps, Kidnapping, M/M, Mahiru and Kuro are so tired and Done, Murder, Protective Hugh, Protective Tetsu, Revenge, Step aside losers, Tetsu doesn't get why, The batfam is Suspicious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-05-13 04:54:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14742359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pomfry/pseuds/Pomfry
Summary: "Hugh?""Tetsu!" Hugh turns around, something furious and dark in the angle of his smile. "We're going to Gotham!"Tetsu blinks at him. "Okay."He doesn't ask about school - this is clearly far more important.





	dead man walkin'

**Author's Note:**

> Whaddap y'all!!! Another thing to cross out in my WIP list!
> 
> I've been working on this for a while now, when I have the interest, and I finally finished it! I'm really proud of it too, so I'm excited to know what you think of it!!
> 
> You all have my discord friends to blame for this - them and and their enabling. Then again I enable them right back, so it's a give and take situation.

Tetsu's had his contract for a bit when Hugh starts watching news reports from Gotham. His frown is dark as he talks with his subclass in the city, his knuckles white around his microphone. Tetsu watches from the doorway, trying to straighten the tie of his uniform.  
  
"Are you sure," Hugh says, voice flat and eyes narrowed on the man laughing on his laptop screen.  
  
"I'm sure," comes a small voice from the headphones. "He robbed the bank where I work for fun- there's no way he's human. No human can take that amount of injuries without dying or at least not being able to get up."  
  
Hugh nods, pressing pause for the video. "I will be there soon. Has he tore someone's throat out?"  
  
"Not that I know of."  
  
Hugh growls lightly under his breath, baring his teeth. "So he's just doing this for the hell of it."  
  
"Yeah." A moment of silence. "Sir, he - he killed Jacob."  
  
Hugh closes his eyes, grief filtering in. Tetsu wanders over and sets a parfait down beside him. He'll never admit it, but the fact that Hugh doesn't even glance at it makes him worried.  
  
"...I'll be there in two days," Hugh says finally "I need to make preparations for my eve."  
  
"Okay, sir." The line cuts out and Hugh presses play.  
  
"Batsy," gasps the man on the screen, a gun to a young woman's head. His fangs glint in the street lights. Hugh stops it again, staring at the laughing face with his chin resting on a fist, looking lost in thought.  
  
"Hugh?" Tetsu can't help but say something. Hugh doesn't show this side of himself often - he prefers to stay a child.  
  
"Tetsu!" Hugh turns around, something furious and dark in the angle of his smile. "We're going to Gotham!"  
  
Ah.  
  
Tetsu blinks at him. "Okay."  
  
He doesn't ask about school - this is clearly far more important. “When are we going?”

“Right away,” Hugh says, throwing his little pipe to the ground in frustration. Why he hasn’t heard about Joker before when so many of his subclass have been in mortal danger because of him, he has no idea. It’s too late now. One of his subclass died. He supposes that they thought that Bruce Wayne would have dealt with him, but he clearly _hasn’t._

He has a no-kill rule. So do many of his subclass - they were human once, after all. They have the morals of one. Hugh...doesn’t. He doesn’t have any memories of being human. He woke up with wounds in his chest closing and the blood of a girl who looked so much like him beside him. The first thing he remembers is Creator smiling down at him coldly, Kuro a step behind him and looking at Hugh curiously.

He doesn’t have the morals of humans. He doesn't think he ever will.

“Hugh? Is everything okay? You look kinda worried.”

Hugh smiles at his eve reassuringly. Tetsu is only fifteen - his birthday was two weeks ago - and he’s still in middle school. Hugh knows all of his insecurities, confessed when they collapsed after training deep into the night. He knows all of his thoughts, all of his hidden feelings, and he loves Tetsu all the more for it.

Tetsu is smart. Maybe not intelligent, but _clever._ His sisters are good at school, book-smart with that gleam in their eyes that says they know exactly what the answer is. Tetsu doesn’t have that. He has gut instinct, thoughts that don’t follow the conventional patterns. He thinks outside the box, outside of the normal, and he doesn’t hate a lot, if anything.

Tetsu is one of the best eves Hugh has ever had. He’s had Joan of Arc as an eve, and she’s another best. Those rumors that she didn’t die a maiden are false. Hugh killed them before they got the chance, tore their throats out with his teeth right in front of her when they made their intentions clear.

But -

But Tetsu is still looking at him, brows furrowed, and Hugh realizes he’s been lost in thought for the past few minutes. He laughs a little - truly, after he came back to himself, he’s changed. More prone to get caught up in his own mind than before, more prone to forgetting little things, like the name of a celebrity. It's worrying more than anything, but he has enough experience to know it's nothing dangerous. Tetsu doesn't know that, though.

"I'm fine," he says convincingly. Tetsu nods, but his eyes shine with relief, and for that Hugh is grateful.

  
\-- 

 

Bruce sighs, rubbing at his eyes. It's late - almost five in the morning - and he's spent his whole time looking for Joker. He's been particularly vicious lately, a hungry gleam in his eyes as he looks at his victims.

Bruce hopes he hasn't turned to cannibalism. That would just add a whole new level of fucked up to his general existence, which would be impressive. Joker is pretty much an abomination on this planet, and as much as Bruce is against taking lives, sometimes he looks at Joker, laughing and choking blood under his hands, and - wonders. He was trained to be a killer after all. It wouldn’t be hard to just change his grip and -

A ding from his comm and Bruce reaches up to answer it, yawning slightly. "Yes?"  
  
"Two dubious individuals just entered one of your hotels," Tim says swiftly not even bothering with pleasantries, and five seconds later the live video feed from the security cameras is covering up his research of Joker's movements. Bruce narrows his eyes at the two people checking in. One's a kid - _short, looks five years old, clearly confident, dressed unusually_ \- and the other might be a legal teenager - _tall, calm, strong_ \- and is carrying a coffin on his shoulders.  
  
Bruce blinks at the odd sight. Coffins are heavy, made of fine wood and thick. No one could easily carry one - and yet, here he is, holding one on his shoulder with a single hand without a hint of strain. Suspicious by far. Metas can do it without much effort, but there’s also some kind of indication by their past that their powers activated.

Then again, he doesn’t know the boy’s history.

"We're here," says the kid in Japanese, voice squeaky, and the clerk's face crumbles in relief.  
  
"Thank goodness," she breathes, hands shaking. "Joan called you?"  
  
The kid nods, tapping the pipe in his hands against the desk. "She did." Then his face softens, sympathy entering his gaze. "I'm sorry about Jacob, Marie. I know you and him were close."  
  
Marie takes a shuddering breath, putting her hands over her mouth as she practically keels over in her seat. "Thank you," she whispers, looking lost. "You're going to - to -"  
  
"Yes," says the teenager, speaking up for the first time. His voice is deep, even despite everything that’s happened in Gotham lately. Bruce watches them skeptically. He doubts that they’re here for innocent reasons. Even those here on corrupt business are nervous when Joker is on the loose.

Maybe the kid is a genius and the teenager is the henchmen, but that isn’t what Bruce is getting from them.  
  
Marie smiles - and it's a small, pitiful thing. "Are you staying here while you're in the city?"  
  
The kid nods. "Yes. Can you contact the others and tell them?"  
  
Marie doesn't say anything, only nods in return and hands the teenager a key. "Tenth floor, room two-o'-eight. Everyone should be calling you at nine."  
  
The teenager takes the key, picks the child up, and heads for the stairs.  
  
Bruce's lips twist and switches to the secret camera in the room they went to. Dubious individuals indeed. They’ll need to run interference.

 

\--

 

A chill runs down Hugh's spine and he carefully doesn't jerk his head up. "Tetsu," he says quietly. "Someone's watching us. Drop our things off and leave the hotel. We'll go to the park and try to gather information."  
  
Tetsu's lips tighten, but he hums in agreement; Hugh adores that about his eve. He's so simple minded and trusts so easily and so completely, and yet he's so complex at times.  
  
Tetsu opens the door, drops their bags on the bed and walks out, all without a change in expression. Hugh grips his shirt with both hands and pulls himself up to Tetsu's shoulders, sitting on one.  
  
"Which park," Tetsu murmurs, making his way downstairs.  
  
Hugh hums, leaning against his eve's head. He has a subclass that lives by the biggest park in Gotham, works nearby too. He tugs lightly on Tetsu's hair. "Center Park."  
  
Tetsu doesn't move his head but pulls out his phone and types in Center Park in Google Maps and hands it to Hugh. He shifts the coffin. "Tell me where to go."  
  
Hugh grins, little fingers tapping the screen. "Take a left when you reach the end of the street."  
  
Tetsu makes a noise in the back of his throat, obediently turning left. "Now?"  
  
Hugh blinks at the screen. "The hotel was really close to the park. Take another left, then go right and we'll be there."  
  
Tetsu does as he's told and they make idle chatter the whole time, Hugh wondering aloud about Sleepy Ash and if he's okay and Tetsu asking if the onsen is fine. Hugh tells him that it won't fall when he's gone for five days at most and Tetsu says that Sleepy Ash is okay - he's the oldest after all.  
  
Hugh feels something warm in his chest - he's happy, he realizes as a silly smile spreads on his face. After the death of his last eve - which was ten years ago - he wasn't able to find it in himself to be happy, not when the one who gave him a name and home was gone.  
  
Hugh grins and pats Tetsu's head.  He has such a good eve.

Tetsu blinks and glances at him but otherwise doesn't react as his feet steps on grass. "What do you want to do?"  
  
Hugh shrugs. "I don't know. Do some reconnaissance? We need to know the layout of the city in case we need to escape. Just go to the park first and then we'll go from there."  
  
"Okay." Tetsu pulls on the strap of the coffin, huffing a bit when it weighed him down. "Why are coffins so heavy?"  
  
"Because." Hugh says as the park comes into view, "coffins are made of wood and typically have a dead body in them." He pauses. "Your Lead isn't made of wood, but out of a physical manifestation of the power I gave to you, so it's naturally heavy."  
  
Tetsu wrinkles his nose. "Whatever." He stops by a bench, setting it down. "Are you okay? Back ache?"  
  
Hugh frowns, feeling a phantom pain run down his spine. After he got the Jin and his memories back, he's made it a point to make sure his body wasn't affected long-term by it. He's also brushed up with his fighting skills - before Tsubaki, he hadn't fought in at least thirty years and he had gotten a bit rusty.  
  
When he opened his eyes to Tetsu's worried face, when he said his eve's name with the memories of the past few months intact, when he saw Tetsu's expression crumble to relief.  
  
Hugh _never_ wants to be the cause of that much heartbreak again. He made a promise to himself, years and years ago, when he was still young and had his first eve, that he would always protect them. He had never broken that promise, had kept it and held it until Tsubaki made him lose his Jin.  
  
And he hurt his eve. He didn't remember him, didn't recall anything, and it had hurt Tetsu. And how Hugh despises that fact. Tetsu is only fifteen, only a middle schooler with his whole life ahead of him and everything to lose. Hugh sometimes felt like he was the one making Tetsu able to keep calm.

When he lost his memories, he was, theoretically, fine. He was immortal, after all. When Hugh lost his memories, Tetsu lost _everything._ His guide to the world he was embroiled in, his little caretaker, his protector and tutor and general. Tetsu lost everything Hugh represented, and even though he coped well, Hugh knows his eve enough to see that it wasn't okay. Tetsu was lost, adrift at sea without a rope. He was only fourteen in a war that someone started without any regard for him, and the one who kept him safe suddenly wasn't there.  
  
Hugh hates and he hates. He hates how Tetsu was left alone, grieving and still trying his best. He hates how he was so easily defeated. He hates how Tetsu was forced to take care of him, forced to remind him of his name. He hates and he hates and he _hates._  
  
Hugh is the servamp of _pride._ He's the second most powerful in his family, and, yes, he has pride for himself, but -  
  
But he's also so proud of Tetsu. And he shows it every day, showering Tetsu with affection and attention and everything he couldn't give when he lost his memories.  
  
"Hugh? There's a man."  
  
Hugh snaps to attention, because Tetsu would only tell him that if he's wary, and sure enough, there's a man with dark hair and blue eyes leaning against a tree, only watching. Hugh's hackles raise and his eyes narrow. He knows that Tetsu is attractive for many people - blue eyed, blonde hair, a kind disposition - and has seen many people stare. But only for a moment. Humans tend to get discouraged when a child is looking at them as they ogle someone.  
  
This man, clearly, has no such reserves, because he meets Hugh's glare steadily.  
  
"Tetsu," Hugh murmurs, on edge, "we are leaving."  
  
"Hugh," Tetsu begins, and Hugh taps the side of head, keeping eye contact with the man. He's in Gotham and he has a eve to protect. He can't _afford_ to let his guard down.

 _"Now,"_ he bites out, resisting the urge to bare his teeth. "Tetsu, this isn't Japan. Gotham is _dangerous,_ and I won't let it hurt you."  
  
Tetsu shifts his weight on his feet, fingers curling around the strap. "Hugh," he says timidly, "I think he's fine. Look, he's coming over."  
  
Hugh sinks his fangs into his bottom lip. Dammit, dammit, _dammit._ “Just - let me do the talking, okay?"  
  
Tetsu nods and then the man is upon them, smiling charmingly. "Hi," he says, and Hugh digs his fingernails into his thigh.  
  
"Hello," Hugh returns, grinning. It's more of a snarl than is normally accepted in society, but this is _Gotham._ It's probably welcomed. “Who are you?”

It’s a rhetorical question. He knows precisely who this man is, and he never does anything without a reason.

“Me?” The man touches a hand to his chest. “I’m Dick Grayson? And you?”

Tetsu smiles faintly, bowing at the waist, Hugh automatically wrapping his arm around his eve’s throat to prevent himself from falling off. “Sendagaya Tetsu,” he says politely with a thick accent, and straightens. Hugh very nearly kisses Tetsu’s cheek. He’s so sweet.

Grayson moves closer, still smiling that damned charming smile. “And who may this be?”

Hugh crosses his arms, scowling fiercely. “Hugh the Dark Algernon the third.” He doesn’t quite say _go away and never come back,_ but anyone with half a brain should get the message. He taps Tetsu’s shoulder and motions with his head that they should be going now.

Dick Grayson, apparently, is not a person with a half a brain, because he grins and, easy as you please, falls into step beside them. Hugh really feels like killing him. He’s making Hugh tetsy and thus Tetsu anxious, which is not okay. Tetsu is attuned to his moods far more than Hugh would like to admit.

“So!” Grayson stretches his arms above his head. His body is annoying perfect, and Hugh can feel the way Tetsu’s cheeks heat up. He may like Misono - for reasons Hugh cannot decipher no matter how much he tries - but Tetsu is not oblivious to someone having a body that indicates they have very good genes indeed.

“Yes?” Hugh says waspishly. He is rapidly becoming closer to just messing with this guy’s head.

“Where are you two going?”

Tetsu shrugs, his coffin moving with the motion. “We don’t know,” he says honestly. “It’s our first time here. Hugh?” He turns his head to look at him. “Are you hungry?”

If Tetsu is asking that, it means that he himself is hungry, so Hugh merely nods. Grayson laughs.

“I see! Well, I know a good diner that’s cheap, if you want to go. They have great fries and the kids meal comes with a figurine of one of Gotham’s heroes. Vigilantes?” He puts a hand on his chin in thought. “Vigilheroes.”

Tetsu wants a figurine he can show Mahiru and Misono, Hugh knows, so he merely pats Tetsu head twice while saying, “That sounds great,” he says with forced cheer. “Where is it?”

“I can show you,” Grayson offers amicably. ”I’ve lived here since I was like nine, I know my way around here.”

Tetsu nods, chatting quietly with Grayson as Hugh keeps an eye on the shadows. Just because Bruce Wayne doesn’t like to come out during the day doesn’t mean the rest aren’t okay with it.

 

\--

 

Dick is - not entirely sure of what to do with these people. One of them is a fifteen year old - he’d told Dick when he’d asked for his age - who looks like he’s eighteen and the other is a kid who looks like he’s ready to quite literally rip Dick’s throat out.

When Bruce had called him and said he wanted him to investigate a few suspicious individuals while a civilian, he did not expect this.He should have, though. It’s not often Bruce tells him to approach someone in his actual name. Clearly something is up with these two, and it’s not just their weird dynamics. Something else is happening, something deeper and something he’s not aware of. There’s an old kind of weariness in Hugh’s eyes, and danger lurking underneath Tetsu’s skin, as harmless as they appear. Something is _happening,_ and Dick doesn’t know what. It rankles him to be so void of information, but it’s what’s happening. Hopefully by the time he gets back to the cave Bruce will have something for him to chew on.

“Oh, Mary,” Dick sings as he opens the door. Tetsu follows sedately behind, talking with Hugh, and Mary steps out of the kitchen, her gray-streaked hair pulled into a tight pun and her jeans dusted with flour and sauces. She smiles when she sees him, bright and fond, and holds out her arms for a hug.

“Dick!” she says happily, laughing when he sweeps her into a hug. “What brings you here?”

Dick points behind him. “I brought some newcomers. I don’t think Tetsu - the blond one - has ever been out of Japan, so do you…”

She nods. “Chef’s choice,” she says, smiling mischievously. She sweeps around him to take Tetsu by the elbow and leads him to a booth. “You’ll love what I choose for you,” she promises. “Anything you’re allergic to? Either of you?”

Hugh shifts, sliding down to sit beside Tetsu. “I’m allergic to nuts,” he says primly, eyes sharp. He’s testing her. Perhaps Tetsu is allergic to nuts.

“Not to worry,” Mary says easily, clearly recognizing what he’s doing. “I keep all of my nut products away from the rest.”

Hugh relaxes minutely, hand finding itself gripping Tetsu’s pants tight. “Good,” he says. Mary smiles down at him, the wrinkles around her eyes making her seem even more grandmotherly. Hugh doesn’t seem affected by it - why, Dick doesn’t know. He hasn’t met many people who can resist the sheer amount of kindness Mary seems to emate.

Hugh is an odd child, Dick thinks as he wanders up and sits across from him. He’s clearly in charge, but Tetsu seems to be taking care of him just as equally. Their relationship is fluid, never seeming to be content to stick to just one definition.

It makes his teeth grind.

Unknowns are not welcome. Unknowns are off his radar and it would probably take effort to beat. DIck doesn’t particularly want that to happen.

Mary comes back with the food in record time, setting two burgers down in front of them and a steak, rare. It’s a small steak, fit for a child, and Hugh eyes it warily.

“Why a steak?” Dick can’t help but say as he pulls his usual towards them.

Mary’s eyes have always been a muddy sort of color and her canines a bit sharp, but they’re really prominent at the moment. “Just a hunch,” she says brightly, and Hugh’s hands tighten on his silverware as she turns on her heel to head back to the kitchen. “Have a good day!”

What did she mean by that? Why did Hugh tense up and Tetsu’s arm make an abortive motion to the coffin beside him?

What is going on?

Dick doesn’t like this. He doesn’t like this at all. Something is up and he doesn’t have the faintest idea as to what.

“Do you like rare steaks?” he asks, trying to buy time. Tetsu is already dipping his fries into the signature sauce Mary makes, eating them with a pleased expression. Hugh is cutting into his steak, knuckles white.

“Oh, yes,” he says with a smile. “I love rare stakes.” Those little fangs that stick out from under his top lip are suddenly more threatening. Dick doesn’t have a doubt that he could take him - Hugh is a child, after all - but he isn’t sure that he _wants_ to. He has a feeling that he would walk away with one too many injuries to survive

Dick laughs, slipping out of the booth without touching his burger - an unusual occurrence, especially considering he’s declared that Mary’s food almost beats Alfred’s - and says, with a strained smile, “I’m gonna go to the bathroom.”

Tetsu merely shrugs, focused on his food, but Hugh keeps his eyes on his back until the door swings closed behind him. Dick shivers, leaning against the wall as he pulls out his phone. “Creepy kid,” he mutters, and dials Bruce. He picks up on the first ring.

_“What’s wrong?”_

Dick breathes out heavily, running his hand through his hair. There is something about that kid…

‘So I have some info,” he says, his voice forcibly steady. “Their whole dynamic is weird. The kid - Hugh - is crazily protective of the teenager. He glared at me when Tetsu brought the fact that I was staring at them. He tested Mary. He’s just - so overprotective, it’s crazy.”

 _“So not unlike Bruce,”_ Tim chimes in cheekily, and Bruce grunts at him.

 _“It’s not like I don’t have cause,”_ Bruce says sourly. _“And I’m presuming Tetsu is the teenager?”_

“Yeah.” Dick stuffs his hand into his jean pocket. “He’s - I don’t want to say a bit slow, but he is. But he’s also clever by half and he seems to be the one taking care of Hugh. Here’s where it gets weird. Hugh is also taking care of Tetsu. He gives some kind of signal telling him when it’s safe and he tested Mary to see if there’s any nuts in her food. I don’t think he has a nut allergy.”

He can practically feel Bruce’s frown. _“Odd.”_

Dick snorts. “Yeah, I know. It gets weirder. Hugh looks like a damn five year old and I didn’t think I would survive the encounter. And Mary gave him a rare steak, saying it was just a hunch. It put them both on edge enough that Tetsu reached for his coffin.”

 _“He reached for his coffin?”_ And there’s Damian. Dick smiles, tilting his head back until it hits the wall. _“A coffin isn’t a good weapon. It’s a_ **_coffin._ ** _”_

“Well, that’s what he did,” Dick says, sighing. “I don’t know what it means, and I can’t stay with them for much longer without it seeming creepy.” He opens the door and walks out again - he was staying in there to long - and says, “Why don’t you come over here? Hugh is like five and I want to talk to Tetsu.”

“Okay,” Damian says without hesitation, recognizing the angle Dick is going for. “I’ll be at at the diner within ten minutes.”

Dick meets Hugh’s cutting gaze, the curl of his lip that passes barely passes for a smile, sits down, and says cheerfully, “My brother will be here soon!”

Hugh’s very obviously forcing the words he wants to say back, but Tetsu has no such reservations. He puts down his burger, swallows the bite in his mouth, and says, “What brother?”

He really doesn’t know about the Wayne family, Dick marvels, but he doesn’t say anything. Judging from the grip Hugh has on his steak knife, he’s liable to get a sharp edge to the face.

“My little brother, Damian,” Dick says, reaching for a fry. “He’s a bit of a grump, but he’s great. I have a feeling Hugh and him will get along well.”

Tetsu wrinkles his nose. “Hugh isn’t a grump,” he protests, and Hugh pats his knee.

“It’s alright, Tetsu,” he says sweetly. “I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by it.”

Damian chooses that moment to barge in, the door slamming into the wall as he looks around the restaurant for them. Hugh stiffens as Dick catches a blur of red and blue flying up into the sky, and he has to hide a smile.

“Grayson,” Damian calls, making his way over, and Hugh’s eyes dart over to Tetsu - his charge or his friend, Dick can’t help but wonder - before he forcefully relaxes and smiles.

“Hello,” he says, perfectly polite, and Tetsu nods his greeting, mouth full of fries. “I presume you are Mr. Grayson’s brother?”

“You would presume correctly,” Damian says dryly, holding out his hand. Hugh takes it, pale skin stark against Damian’s dark tone. “Pleased to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” Hugh replies, smile all teeth. “This is Sendagaya Tetsu.”

Tetsu waves, a little awkward. “Hello.”

Damian inclines his head, taking a seat beside Dick. “Damian!’ Diick says, grinning brightly enough to outshine the sun. “How have things been?”

“Jon is intolerable as always.” Damian sighs, crossing his arms. “He’s insisting that our project should be on the solar system while I’m saying it should be on the structure of a rare crystal.”

“Well, we can’t all be overachievers,” Hugh says, a hint of bemusement in his voice. “Is it that much of a surprise? There are still many things we still don’t know about our own star system. Right, Tetsu?”

Tetsu shrugs, eyeing Hugh’s fries. Hugh soundlessly hands them over, steak long since gone. The teenager makes a happy noise, taking one.

Odd dynamic, Dick thinks again, and finds he can’t escape it.

“As soon as Tetsu finishes his food, we’ll be going,” Hugh says, laying his hands on the table with his monocle glinting in the lighting. “We have business to attend to, and Tetsu has school.” He smiles coldly. “I’m afraid that you aren't welcome. It’s private.”

No reference of his own school, Dick notices, and the mention of business has him on edge. One glance at Damian shows he’s the same as he starts a stare off with the five year old.

His eyes are a burning red. Dick feels a fissure of fear skate down his spine. Nothing good comes of red eyes.

“Done,” Tetsu says quietly, and when they look over the fries are gone. Hugh smiles, holding up his arms. Tetsu picks him up without a word, settling him on his shoulder. “Are we going to pay?”

Dick snaps out of his daze, shaking his head. “Nah, I’ll pay. I was the one who brought you here.” Hugh gives him a look that might approving. “See you later!”

Tetsu says the same and then leaves, Hugh still on his shoulder, and the bell rings on their way out.

Damian looks at him seriously. “Something is wrong with that child,” he says. “He reminds me of the texts Grandfather used to give me, of the child with moon skin and blood eyes. He was a monster. He killed and he killed and he was leashed by one person and one person alone. Grandfather wanted me to be like that.”

He looks miserable at the mention of the family he grew up with, and Dick wraps his arm around his shoulders, pulling him close. “Well, you’re not,” he says. “Anything else?”

“Only that he was unkillable. He would be struck through the heart and still, he would fight.”

Dick licks his lips. They know of one immortal. What’s another?

 

\--

 

Hugh is so very close to cursing. They need to leave this city yesterday, and Joker is still missing. They need to find him right away before the vigilantes take advantage of their distraction. He needs to contact his subclass, needs to go out onto the field himself and gather information, then get Tetsu for back up. He needs -

He needs blood. He need that power boost, that rush of energy, of feeling like he could do anything.

“Tetsu,” he says. “We need to go back to the hotel, I need to drink, and then I need to go find where Joker is alone.”

Tetsu glances at him , moving his Lead against his back. “I’m not coming with you?”

Hugh immediately shake his head. “No,” he agrees. “You’re not. You’re kind of conspicuous, my eve, and I need to go under the radar.” Tetsu still looks worried - it’s in the position of his mouth, the way that his fingers twitch. People who say Tetsu is blank clearly don’t him that well.

“You’ll be okay?”

Hugh laughs, patting Tetsu’s cheek. “Of course I will. And I’ll be back before the twelve hours are up, so you will be fine as well. No turning into a bat for you.”

His eve nods, changing direction. “Okay.”

 

\--

 

When they reach the hotel, Hugh hops off Tetsu’s shoulder, marches his way to the bathroom, tugging Tetsu behind him. He opens his mouth expectantly and Tetsu holds out his wrist, only wincing faintly when Hugh’s fangs sink into his skin.

Hugh is careful not to take too much. His subclass have the problem of doing that when they first become his, but they always live. And Tetsu Is his _eve._ Drinking too much, no matter how intoxicating it is sometimes, has never been an option. It only lasts five second, just long enough to get Hugh sated, but it’s more than enough. He pulls back, dabbing at his mouth with the handkerchief he keeps in his pocket for his very moment, and does the same for Tetsu’s wrist. He grabs the bandage Tetsu offers, and wrapps the wrist tightly, not willing to take any chances.

(He doubts that Joker has given this much care to his victims, thinks that he must have drank them dry and thirsted for more.)

“Okay,” he says, and hugs his eve’s leg. “I’ll see you later. Stay out out of trouble.”

Tetsu pats his head. “You too.”

Hugh poofs into a bat and flies out of the window Tetsu opens for him. He circles over the city, looking and searching.

He spots one of his subclass and drops down to their shoulder. “I’m here for the Joker,” he says into their ear. “Tell the others.” Then he lifts into the sky, taking the lower ends of the city first. If Hugh was the Joker, he would be hiding in the numerous warehouses by the river, so he goes there.

As soon as he lands on a building, he hears cackling. Hugh tenses, turning back into a human and creeping around the corner. Joker is here, laughing and laughing, every inch of his bare skin covered. So he is a subclass. Question is, which is of Hugh’s siblings does he belong to? This can’t be an old development. Hugh has seen old videos of Joker - he never covered his skin. So who turned him? Wrath has been in Japan with her former eve for the past thirty years, Sloth hasn’t ever made a subclass, Greed has been with Licht, -

Envy.

Hugh resists the urge to groan. Of _course_ it’s Envy. When did he go with Mikuni -

Joker’s laughter stops and he turns, just in time to catch Hugh watching him. His grin grows. “A Servamp? Come to kill me? I’m honored!”

This time, Hugh does curse, and poofs into a bat, flying away.

“I’ll stay here for you, little vampire!” Joker shrieks are him, and Hugh swallows roughly.

 _What is it with Envy and choosing the crazy ones?_ he thinks, a bit wearily. They’re all crazy. All of them.

No matter. He knows where he is and he’ll be gone by tonight. He should buy the plane tickets as soon as he gets to the hotel.

He lands outside the doors, marching in and out of the look of the camera before turning back into a bat, flying almost frantically up the stairs. Tetsu is sitting on the bed, a frown on his lips as he tries to make sense of the sounds coming from the TV, and he straightens when Hugh opens the door.

“Find him?” he asks without preamble as he mutes the TV.. Hugh smiles at his bluntness.

“I did,” he says, sitting beside his eve. “He’s going to be waiting for us. He’s apparently honored that I came after him myself.” He gives Tetsu a grin. “Let’s give him a reason to be so honored.”

Tetsu nods back, blinking heavily. “I’m tired,” he says, and Hugh pats his knee, grin fading into something softer.

“Go to sleep. You’ll need to be fully awake for the attack tonight,” he says, and turns off the lights, plunging the room into darkness.

He grins, his fangs more threatening. Let’s go, Joker, he thinks, and settles in to wait.

 

\--

  


Dick was assigned the task of watching the pair, so he’s the first one who sees Hugh and Tetsu leave the hotel at midnight, their expressions steely. Hugh’s cape is fapping at his heels, and his hands are clenched, flexing as though he’s holding something.

Dread builds in his gut. They’re doing something, something that deserves the dangerous glint in Tetsu’s eyes, the way Hugh bares his teeth.

They're doing something, and Dick taps into the comms. “They’re going somewhere and are prepared for a fight. Get to my location.”

Bruce makes an affirmative grunt, and Dick runs across the rooftops, keeping an eye on them. They’re heading to the warehouses, he realizes, and grabs his grappling hook, shooting it onto the top of another building. His comm buzzes.

 _“We know,”_ Bruce rumbles. _“We bugged their room.”_

Dick doesn’t even try not to smile. That sounds like Bruce. “Good. KNow where they’re headed?”

“No, they didn’t say. But I’m following you.”

Hugh throws a sharp look over his shoulder and turns the corner, out of Dick’s view. He scowls, muttering a _fuck you,_ and turns like they did.

They’re gone, like they hadn’t even been here in the first place.

He bites back a sigh and tap his comm. “Don’t follow me,” he says. “They’re gone.”

 

\--

 

Tetsu isn't sure of what is going to happen, but he trusts Hugh. So he shifts his coffin better onto his back, and gets into the car. “This is my subclass,” Hugh says, crouching down and taking off his hat. “Her name is Lanie. Lanie, take us to the warehouses. Joker is there.”

Lanie, a plump woman with a kind smile, nods, taking a left. Tetsu gently sets his coffin on the floor and folds himself up so he could hide.

“We’re hiding from the Batman?” he asks, because he has to be sure. Sometimes he gets things mixed up in his head and Hugh has to help sort it out.

“We are,” Hugh says. “He has a no kill rule, but I don’t.”

Tetsu hasn’t been completely okay with killing - he was raised that it was wrong - but Hugh’s morals have rubbed on him. A subclass dying is commonplace after all. As long as it’s someone who deserves it and they’re a subclass, Tetsu doesn’t really mind.

And Joker most definitely deserves it.

“Okay,” he says, and shifts so that he’s in a more comfortable position. “We’re running the moment we’re done?”

“Yep,” Hugh says cheerfully. “I already bought the tickets for our plane.”

Tetsu nods. “Alright.”

Lanie jerks to a stop in front of rows of warehouses. “We’re here,” she says quietly, like she’s afraid of what lays beyond. Which, considering it’s the Joker, he doesn’t blame her.

“Thank you,” Hugh says as he gets out, and Tetsu echoes him, grabbing his Lead. “We’ll be going now. Get out of here before someone sees you. I’ll call you later to see if you’re okay.”

Lanie nods, turns her car around, and then she’s gone. Hugh tightens his grip on his pipe, adjusts his hat, and starts down a line of buildings, Tetsu following him. He stops at the tenth one, taking a deep breath.

“Ready?” he asks, and Tetsu nods. Hugh shakes his hands, jumping around on his feet. “Okay.”

He opens the door, Joker’s laughter spilling out into the air, and Tetsu can’t hide his flinch. It’s insane, echoing off the walls and reaching his ears. Hugh summons his weapon - a staff with a bladed end - and steps in front of him.

“Joker!” Hugh calls, and the laughter stops. “I’m here. Come out.”

Joker steps out of the shadows, grinning like a madman. Which,Tetsu thinks as he sets his Lead down on the ground, he is.

“Hello, Old Child,” he says gleefully, hands fluttering in the air. “Hello, hello, hello!”

Hugh slams the but of his staff onto the ground. “Joker,” he growls, the sound of it somehow intimidating despite the fact it’s spoken in a five year old’s voice. “You’ve killed enough people.”

Joker giggles, gaze straying from the tiny vampire at Tetsu’s feet to Tetsu himself. His eyes widen and his grin becomes more sharp. “Oh? Is this your eve? He sure looks intimidating,” He takes a step forward, that creepy grin on his face. “Mind if I take a look at him?”

Hugh hisses between his teeth and Tetsu tightens his grip on his coffin. He doesn’t like this situation, doesn’t like the silkiness of Joker’s voice, and Hugh takes a step towards Joker.

“Tetsu,” Hugh says lowly, furiously, “is my _eve._ Didn’t Envy tell you to never touch Pride’s eves?”

Joker hums, rocking back on his heels. “Nope. I just found these things out from a little birdie called Jacob. He had beautiful red eyes. They looked like rubies.”

Jacob. The name of the subclass Hugh lost. Tetsu frowns, moves his foot back. He doesn’t want to face this man.

Hugh seems to pick up on his apprehension, because he sends a smile over his shoulder. “Don’t worry your head about him, Tetsu. I’ll take care of him. Just stand back.”

“Y’know, I heard about Tsubaki,” Joker hums. “I heard you got beat by his subclass.”

Tetsu stiffens. That had been a terrifying and mournful time of his life. Hugh was there but not, and it had _frightened_ him. It still does, and he’s having trouble breathing.

Hugh reaches back to pat his leg, not taking his eyes off the Joker. “Tetsu, go stand outside. I’ll take care of this,” he says soothingly, pushing his leg back a bit. “Go on.”

Joker bursts into cackling laughter, wheezing with the force of it. “You’re so sweet!” He bends at the waist, shoulders heaving. “Do you really think you’ll be able to take me out?”

“I do,” Hugh retorts, as though it’s obvious, and spins his staff, slicing the blade through the air just as someone bumps into Tetsu’s arm.

 

\--

 

Dick is - so confused. Hugh is fighting Joker, wielding a staff twice as big as him expertly, and his eyes are glowing in the low light, two scarlet dots in the darkness. It sends chills down Dick’s spine. Hugh is _dangerous,_ but Tetsu should be stepping in, should be ushering Hugh behind him. And yet -

And yet, despite how protective he _knows_ Tetsu is of Hugh, he’s staying back, leaning against his coffin and watching with his arms crossed. Dick grabs his shoulder, spinning Tetsu to face him.

“What?” Tetsu blinks at him. “Nightwing?”

“What are you _doing?_ Why are you not stepping in?” Dick demands, and Tetsu looks at him as though he’s being weird.

“Hugh can take care of himself,” he says, and Joker stumbles behind him, Hugh’s blade a flash of blue as it swipes after him.  Blood gathers at Joker’s cheek, arm, leg. It drips to the ground and Joker licks his lips, grinning at the taste of his own blood.

“He’s a _child,”_ Dick protests, anxiously, and Hugh snarls, sticking his blade into the ground while kicking out. Joker goes flying, crashing into the wall and still laughing. “He’s five!”

“Hugh can take care of himself,” Tetsu repeats, steely, and suddenly there’s bats fluttering around them, and Tetsu’s leaning against his coffin, eyes almost white as he glares. “Go on guys.” The bats screech and dart forward, swarming around Dick’s eyes, and when he manages to bat them away Hugh has Joker at the wall.

He opens his mouth, and with a jolt Dick sees the fangs that are suddenly terrifying. His teeth are too sharp, too many, and he feels ill to his stomach. “Tetsu, he’s about to _tear someone’s throat out.”_

“Who made you?” Hugh demands coldly. “Was it Doubt Doubt? The Mother?”

Joker laughs in his face. “Doubt Doubt!” he sings, wild and insane, and leans in close, the blade drawing a thin line of blood. “Doubt Doubt made me, with a cowboy of gold by his side!’

Hugh narrows his eyes. “I merely wanted to know which sibling I would be apologising to,” he says, and he bites into Joker’s neck. Dick watches in horror as Joker freezes, gasps out two words, and crumbles into dust. Hugh’s left snapping his teeth around thin air, and he licks away the blood.

He turns, and suddenly he’s the odd five year old Dick met today. There’s dust on his clothes, blood on his cheeks, but his eyes are warm, his smile small, and his hands void of weapons. “Done!” he chirps, reaching for Tetsu’s wrist. “His blood was horrible, Tetsu,” he complains as he sinks his teeth into skin and sucks for half a second. “So disgusting.”

Tetsu chuckles, brushing Hugh’s hair back. “I bet it was,” he replies, tranquil, and smiles when Hugh snags a bandage from his pocket.

Dick can’t stop staring at the spot where Joker was. There was no fanfare, no dramatic speeches, no _body._

Just dust and blood on a child’s lips.

“Let’s leave,” Hugh says, and brushes past him as he opens the door with strength that he shouldn’t have.

Dick whirls around, a beeping in his ear that tells him his family is almost here. “Wait!” he shouts. “Wait. Who is Doubt Doubt?” He needs to stall for time, needs to make them stop until Bruce and the others can take them down, because one person sure as _hell_ can’t.

Hugh tilts his head with a flat expression. “Why would I tell you?” he asks, sounding bewildered.

That beeping stops. Dick grins. “Because,” he replies, sweet as cyanide. “You’ll need to tell me when we have you tied to a chair.”

Hugh’s eyes widen, his hands shoot up to tug Tetsu behind him, but Dick’s family is already upon them.

 

\--

 

When Hugh opens his eyes, it’s to Batman’s unamused face. “Hello,” he manages past the thirst in his throat. It has to have been over three hours since his last drink - he never gets this kind of thirsty otherwise.

Wait. Tetsu. His eve, _where is his eve -_

Hugh snaps his head around, heart in his throat as his eyes roam the cave. There are bats above him, stone below him, Tetsu nowhere to be seen. Panic rises in his throat and he jerks. His eve is gone, is taken, and Hugh is alone in the states. None of his siblings are near - except maybe Hyde, but that’s never a certain - and he has Batman in his face.

“So what are you involved in?” Bruce Wayne asks, leaning back.

Hugh bites back a laugh. He’s been involved his entire life.

“I don’t think you want to know,” he says wryly. “It’s a bit of a mind bender.”

Bruce looks at him steadily. “Try me,” he says, and Hugh shakes his head. He has his siblings to protect, his own pride. He may have spared very little thoughts towards it, but he is the very embodiment of pride. What kind of sin would he be if he didn’t pay mind to it?

Bruce stays silent, then -

“How can I get you out of it?”

“Where is Tetsu?” Hugh counters. His eve is priority here, not him.

“Is Tetsu the one who dragged you into this?” Bruce says, and Hugh barks out a laugh. Tetsu, dragging _him_ into the world from which he originates? How laughable, how ridiculous.

“I dragged him into this mess,” Hugh wheezes, still pulling against his restraints, when his fingers brush over his cufflinks.They didn’t take them, which means they didn’t take the little SOS button that’s made to be sent to the nearest Servamp.

He bites down the grin that rises and presses it.

Someone will be here soon. For now, he only needs to wait to be reunited with his eve. He grins, all teeth, and says absolutely nothing. He can’t change into a bat - too strange, too noticeable, but if he does it when his back is turned and he can't see, then _maybe._

Maybe this SOS could be a false alarm

 

\--

 

Kuro grunts when his phone vibrates. Mahiru makes a sleepy noise from beside him, face buried in his jacket, and Kuro pets his head as he checks his phone.

It’s an automated text from Hugh, which has Kuro awake immediately.

 _Captured. Coordinates given below,_ it reads, and he groans, curling more around his eve.

“We can’t get a break,” he complains, and Mahiru laughs softly. “This is supposed to be a vacation!”

“We’re the closest, so that means we have to help them,” Mahiru says fondly while giving him a chaste kiss on the lips. “After that we can come back here and sleep the days away. Okay?”

“Okay,” Kuro says begrudgingly as he gets up. “Having siblings are so troublesome I want to die.”

 

\--

 

Bruce isn’t sure of what to do with these two. On one hand, he’s absolutely certain that they’re being forced whatever they’re doing. On the other -

Hugh is utterly unrepentant. Bruce can see it in his eyes. He doesn’t mind that he killed Joker, and while it may because of the way he was raised, but it could also be because of some other factor. He’s very clearly a meta, though, and he may have been taken from his home when he was child and raised with no morals. Tetsu may have found him and been dragged into the life Hugh led.

He slumps in his seat, rubbing at his eyes. These two...they’re only kids. Tetsu is fifteen, still clueless about the world, and Hugh is ten years his junior. They knew what happened to the Joker, knew what happened and took steps to take care of it. They have contacts, tactics, and utter trust in the other to have their back.

Bruce wants to find the person who made them do the things the did and punch them until they’re black and blue. Tetsu is in another part of the cave, tied to a chair with zip ties and his coffin away from him. There’s a tattoo around his wrist, black and with jagged edges that, oddly enough, look like a bat’s wings. He’s asking for Hugh, getting more and more concerned when they refuse to let him see his tiny companion.

Dammit, they’re just _kids._ This is what he hates about humanity. Sometimes they don’t care about the damage they inflict on children. Tetsu is clearly dependent on Hugh in a way that is wholly reciprocated. Hugh has protected Tetsu as much as he could while Tetsu did the same, and it’s _heartbreakingly_ familiar.

“Let me see Tetsu,” Hugh demands ten feet away, straining against the metal meant of holding someone with super strength. “Let me see my eve!”

“Eve?” Bruce twists to face him. “What’s an eve?”

“Someone important,” Hugh snaps, nearly snarling. “Someone incredibly important, now let me see him so he doesn’t start to lose his mind out of worry!”

Bruce makes a sound in the back of his throat. “That doesn’t answer my question,” he says. Why did he say _my_ in possession, like my sister or my parents? Bruce needs to know.

“I rather think it does,” Hugh retorts, baring his teeth. “Now let. Me. Go.”

“Nightwing? Robin? Can I please see Hugh? He’s probably freaking out.”

Hugh’s face lights up as he straightens. “Tetsu!” he yells, raising his voice. “Tetsu, I’m here! Where’s my pipe?”

The pipe. Hugh has had it within his grasp the entire time he’s been in Gotham. It’s obviously something essential, something irreplaceable to him.

“I don’t know,” Tetsu says, sounding miserable. “I’m sorry, Hugh, but -”

“Don’t worry,” Hugh soothes, and he says it like he has experience. “It’s not your fault, my eve. I’m sure it is around here somewhere.”

“I think I know why you don’t like Gotham,” Tetsu says, and it sounds faintly dry. “Back home, we wouldn’t have gotten kidnapped.”

“Yes, we would have.” Hugh looks amused as he says it, Bruce notices, and wonder why he is.

Tetsu Sendagaya is a middle schooler in a small town in Japan. He’s the heir to a hot spring, and has been known to hand out advertisements. He started showing up with a five year old when he was fourteen, and that five year old was named Hugh.

So. Why did they come all the way to Gotham, when Hugh clearly doesn’t like it? Why do they say they would have gotten kidnapped in Japan, even though it’s an unlikely possibility?

Bruce can feel his frown deepen. There is something beneath the surface of the obvious, and as much as he hates to admit it, he doesn’t have enough information. Tetsu hasn’t given away any, stating that Hugh hasn’t given him the okay. And Hugh is stubbornly remaining sealed.

“Look,” he starts. “If you just _tell me_ what is going on, then I could help you.”

“You _can’t,”_ Hugh answers, and it’s brutal honesty. “You can’t, _Mr. Batman, sir,_ so why don’t you let us -”

A shake. A boom. A roar.

They both freeze and Hugh’s grin is completely vicious. “Now you’re in for it,” he says lightly. Another sound, and the wall starts to cave, spiderweb cracks running across the surface. Bruce leaps to his feet as another roar and a light streams into the darkness of the cave, a man dropping down into it.

“Hugh?” he asks, looking around. He shoves his hands into his pockets, slouching as he eyes the cave.

Hugh smiles. “You may want to hold out your arms.”

“What?” The man blinks, but then his eyes widen and he jumps into the air, catching another person. “You’re so troublesome,” he says, aggrieved. “Seriously, give me a warning.”

“I did,” the other person says cheerfully, arms wrapped around the man’s neck. “You just didn’t hear it, Kuro!”

Now that Bruce is looking at him, he appears seventeen or sixteen, with short brown hair and a smile. “Who are you?” he snaps harshly, breaking the bubble of contentment around them. Hugh snorts.

“They’re in love,” he says dismissively. “They’re like this all the time.”

“Not _all_ the time,” Kuro protests while setting the other person down.“You’re such a pain, Hugh.”

“Love you too, big brother,” Hugh replies sweetly. “Now get my eve.”

The teenager nods, turns on his heel, and runs off, leaving Kuro alone with Bruce and Hugh. “How did you even get into this situation?” Kuro says with a grimace. “You’re usually so careful.”

“There’s only so much I can do when I’m trying to protect my eve.”

Kuro sighs, rubbing the back of his head. “God, do I hate having siblings.”

No response, no teasing remark. Only silence.

Bruce whirls around, but there’s no little boy in a chair, no piercing glare. Nothing. He clenches his fist as Kuro’s quiet snigger.

“Did you really think you could hold him?” he asks in quiet glee. “He’s a sly little troublesome bastard. I would know.” He glances towards the ceiling and his expression shades towards amusement. “Might want to look up.”

Bruce doesn’t turn his eyes away from the man with blue hair and red eyes and teeth that look sharp enough to rip skin with a single second of pressure. “I don’t think I will,” he says evenly. This man is dangerous, and Hugh must have went to get Tetsu, so he’s the priority.

“Your choice.” Kuro shrugs. “Have at him, Hugh.”

A weight drops onto Bruce’s shoulders, a syringe inserts itself into the little sliver of skin between his suit and his mask, and Bruce’s knees weaken.

“I’m surprised you did it that way,” Kuro remarks nonchalantly, as though a five year didn’t just take out the Batman, “considering he knocked your eve out.”

“He was only doing his job,” Hugh says as he dusts off his clothes.

“Still, that’s never stopped you before,” Kuro says, musing, and pulls up his hood. “Seriously, I’ve heard the stories. Lily is a gossip.”

Bruce watches through bleary eyes as they both walk off, leaving him alone with a sedative running through his veins.

His fingers twitch before his eyes close as he breathes out, “What...are you…”

He never gets an answer, although he never expected it.

 

\--

 

Mahiru already has his Lead out when he reaches Tetsu. His friend is talking amicably with two people - one’s a child, Mahiru thinks absently - but he can see the glint of concern in his eyes. Tetsu isn’t very expressive. It’s all in the eyes, and at the moment he’s quite frightened. Mahiru feels a twist of fury that makes his grip tighten on his Lead so much that his knuckles turn white.

“Can I at least have the pipe?” Tetsu asks, arms held behind him and coffin ten feet away.. “Please?”

“I’m sorry,” the taller one begins, and Mahiru darks forward, pushing the coffin towards Tetsu and cutting the zip ties with a single pull of his spear. Tetsu immediately snatches the coffin up as Mahiru slides to a stop, grunting when he slams into the wall.

“Where is Hugh?” Tetsu says, quiet, and the door to his coffin creaks open an inch in threat. Mahiru, who has seen him fight with that coffin very effectively, knows that this threat is not idle, and comes up next to him.

“Hugh is nearby,” he says calmly, pushing he coffin closed. “And we need to leave right now.”

Tetsu looks torn, and they all hesitate for a moment. Then the little one bursts into action, Mahiru automatically ducking behind the coffin as Tetsu slams the front open. “Black Box!”

Bats come pouring out of the coffin, screeching and with glowing blue eyes, and he throws his arms up with a cry of surprise. Tetsu tsks under his breath, lifts the coffin, and throws it like a javelin at them. It swallows them whole as it expands to fit them, closing its lid the moment they become trapped within it.

Mahiru breathes a quiet sigh of relief, stepping away from his friend. “Now that that is done,” he says, aiming for  joyful and missing, “let’s go home.”

“We need to find Hugh’s contract item,” Tetsu says as he picks up his Lead, grunting when the extra weight hits him. “I know that it can’t really be destroyed, but...:” He trails off uncertainly.

“But you don’t want to risk it,” Mahiru finishes. “Yeah, we’ll look. How long can you keep them in there?”

“As long as I want to?” Tetsu gives Mahiru an odd look. “It’s best to take them out when they fall unconscious.”

Mahiru inclines his head, casting his eyes around for that small pipe. “Alright,” he replies, and picks up a wooden spike. “Do you think the other two are done by now?”

“I don’t know.” Tetsu sets the coffin down with a huff. “Man, it gets heavy with two people.”

“Good opportunity for building those muscles,” Mahiru says playfully. “Not that you need that.”

Tetsu shrugs, rummaging through the contents of a table. “I guess.”

Mahiru breathes out a sigh through his nose. Kuro and him had left Japan to get away from the stress for a month or two - and maybe to get some alone time. Turns out Tsubaki is a really clingy person.

Footsteps make them tense, but Kuro’s arms around his waist make him relax almost instantly. “Hey,” he says, leaning back. “How did it go? I know you told me Hugh is protective of his eves.”

Kuro buries his face into his shoulder. “He didn’t do anything other than knock him out,” he mumbles. “Shockingly.”

Mahiru chuckles quietly. His life very much the antonym of simple nowadays, but he wouldn’t change it for the world. Including just how ridiculous his friends are.

“Don’t laugh at my misery,” Kuro grouses. “I’m the oldest so they come to me for their problems and I don’t know what to say to them. Such a pain they all are.”

“You love them.”

“I do,” Kuro says, defeated by Mahiru’s superior and simple logic. “Why are we still here?”

“They’re reuniting -” Mahiru jerks his thumb behind them to Tetsu and Hugh - “and looking for Hugh’s contract item. We might be here for a while yet.”

“Isn’t it right here?” Kuro points at the ground. “I think it fell off earlier.”

Mahiru looks down, and yep, there it is. He groans, thumping his head against Kuro’s chest. “Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Kuro answers. “You’re so troublesome.”

“Now you’re just saying that to be contrary,” Mahiru laughs, giving him a kiss on the nose before leaning down to scoop it up.

"Will you stop banging against my coffin?”

Kuro lets go of his waist, and they both turn to see Tetsu standing above his Lead, eyes narrowed and hands on his hips. “Wait?” Mahiru can’t help but say.

“They keep on trying to get out,” Hugh says, watching from Tetsu’s shoulders.

“Listen, a bomb wasn’t able to destroy this. Just stop and pass out.” Tetsu taps a foot against the side. “Go on. We have to leave.” The banging only increases.

Mahiru sighs, letting his weight fall on Kuro. “We aren’t getting back to the hotel for a while, are we?”

Kuro shakes his head, still watching his sibling and his eve scold the vigilantes in the coffin and curling an arm around Mahiru’s shoulders, pulling him closer. “Nope. More cuddling is scheduled for tomorrow.”

“Sounds nice,” Mahiru agrees. “More chocolate?”

 _“Yes,”_ Kuro says instantly. “Those are great.”

“Simply made, too.” Mahiru really wants to eat that chocolate again. It was delicious and they both really like it, so it’s a win-win scenario.

He makes a mental note to thank his uncle for paying for this. He doesn’t know what he would do without him, truly. This is a much needed time away from everything is - nice. He adores his uncle.

“Hey, twin idiots!” Kuro calls. “We have to leave soon!”

Hugh makes a rude gesture. “No, we need to wait until they are passed out.” The banging stops. “Oh. Well, that’s settled. But we need to find my -”

“Pipe?” Mahiru interrupts, holding it up. “We've been ready to go since ten minutes ago. Get your act together.”

“Who taught you to be so salty?” Kuro murmurs by his ear.

“You.”

“Fair enough,” Kuro decides as Tetsu dumps the two vigilantes on the ground and makes his way over. “Here, take it. We’re going to go back to the hotel and sleep until noon.”

That said, Kuro hands his brother the pipe, picks Mahiru up, and leaps out of the hole they made in the cave.

Mahiru _really_ loves this man.

 

\--

 

They manage to catch their plane, and when Tetsu returns to class, coffin, bat, and all, he says one thing when people ask where he went.

“Gotham City,” he tells them flatly. “It was fun.”

The bat snorts in his hair.

Fun is not the word Hugh would use to describe that venture. Stressful, maybe. Possibly terrifying. But not fun.

Tetsu merely brushes Hugh’s head and goes on with his day, unaware of the destruction and celebration they caused in the United States. He is, after all, only a middle schooler. He can’t be expected to know how things are across the ocean.

Hugh nips at his ear, curls up, and sleeps. He did his job and avenged his subclass.

All is well, he thinks, and nods his head once. All is well.

**Author's Note:**

> About Hugh and Tetsu's abilities - canon literally gives us nothing. Literally nothing. Black Box is in the anime, but other than that. Nothing.
> 
> So I improvised!
> 
> If you see any typos or anything, please tell me so I can fix them. I'm generally good at catching them - I've definitely gotten better since I got a keyboard instead of typing it all on my phone - but they're always there.
> 
> Comments are always loved and brighten up my day and are saved in my Gmail.
> 
> Also! Here's my [Tumblr.](http://nikescaret.tumblr.com) Come visit and chat with me if you want!


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